A Portrait Of the Artist As a Young Man

Joyce's A Portait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical work. It tells of the intellectual, religious, and philosophical awakening of the main character, Stephen Dedalus as he rebels against the conventions in which he has been raised and leaves home to pursue his artistic ambition.

First edition identification and notes

Bound in blue cloth, a first edition of Portrait of the
Artist as a Young Man, published by B.W. Huebsch in New York, is dated “1916” on
the copyright page with no additional printings.

Other collectible or notable editions

The Egoist Press published the first UK edition of Portrait
in February of 1917. Jonathan Cape took over its publication in 1924.

Available copies: A Portrait Of the Artist As a Young Man By
Joyce, James

JOYCE, James.

London: Egoist Press,, 1916. Octavo. Original green cloth, recased with original spine laid down, titles in blind to front board and to spine gilt. Housed in a custom green cloth slipcase. A little wear to top edge of rear cover, hinges repaired, short closed tear to head of pp. 117-20. A very good copy. First edition, English issue from American sheets. A rare presentation copy with the exceptionally early authorial inscription to the front free endpaper, "To Edmund Brauchbar James Joyce Zurich, Switzerland, 12/iii/[1]917". A superb association: Edmund Brauchbar formed a long-lasting friendship with Joyce and has been proposed as a partial model for Leopold Bloom. He was one of a number of assimilated Jews who became Joyce's patrons in Zurich by taking English lessons with him, and from whom in turn Joyce sought information about Judaism. In 1939 Joyce tried to get Brauchbar's cousin out of Nazi Europe into America, and there is evidence to suggest that the publisher Benjamin Huebsch, Brauchbar, and Joyce were all involved in a kind of underground operation to help several Jews escape to America, Ireland, and Australia. When in 1940 Joyce and his family were allowed entry to neutral Switzerland, part of the exorbitant financial guarantee demanded was deposited on his behalf by Brauchbar. Joyce's first novel was published in America by Huebsch from whom Harriet Shaw Weaver, the proprietor of the Egoist Press, purchased "not more than 750" sets of sheets, issuing them here a year before her own UK printing of 1917. From the library of writer, editor, and Joyce collector Alexander Neubauer, with his bookplate to the inside of the folding case.

JOYCE, James.

London: Egoist Press,, 1917. Octavo. Original green cloth, titles to upper board in blind and to spine gilt. Housed in a dark green quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery. Contents browned, spine cocked and severely sunned. Very good. So-called second edition; the first edition to be printed in the UK. This edition was preceded by the English issue of the Huebsch edition of 1916. With the author's signed presentation inscription to the half title page, "To George and Mary Slocombe James Joyce Paris 7. i. 926"; George Slocombe was an English journalist writing for the American papers. He also wrote a book called The Heart of France - Parisian, provincial & peasant, etc (1934). He reviewed Ulysses when it came out, and he is listed by Joyce as one of the select recipients of a press copy. Joyce's inscription usually appears on the front free endpaper; in this copy, however, that space is occupied by the inscription of the book's first owner, Allan Ross Macdougall, an American in Paris, friend and later biographer of Isadora Duncan. Presentation copies of this printing are rare and examples with such interesting Parisian provenance are exceptional in all regards.

JOYCE, James.

London:: The Egoist Ltd.,, [1916].. First edition; English issue, made up of American sheets.. rebound in modern morocco, t.e.g., illustrated after a photograph of Joyce on the front panel, and a cross on the rear panel. Preserved in a custom 1/4 morocco folding box.. Joyce made an earlier attempt to inscribe this copy to someone else; the eradication of the earlier inscription can be seen if the page is held to the light. The binder has trimmed the top edge of the sheets in order to gild the top edge, and the last letter of "Wadsworth" is very slightly affected. Otherwise a fine copy. . 8vo,. Slocum and Cahoon A12. Signed and inscribed by James Joyce for Percy Wadsworth, Paris, 30 July 1921, at the upper corner of the blank leaf preceding the half-title.

Joyce, James

Huebsch, 1916 First Edition, First Printing preceding the English edition, which was issued from the American sheets, by two months. A beautiful copy bound in the ORIGINAL blue cloth from the publisher. The book is in fantastic condition. The binding is tight, and the boards are crisp with a hint of wear to the edges. The pages are clean with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, a stunning copy of this TRUE FIRST EDITION in collector's condition. We buy Joyce First Editions.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine.

Joyce, James

New York: B. W. Huebsch, 1916. Medium blue cloth, lettered in gilt and blind. Top edge slightly dust darkened, trivial rubbing at crown and toe of spine, but a very near fine copy, in a fragment of the very scarce printed dust jacket. First edition. Although serialized in 25 installments in THE EGOIST from Feb. 1914 to Sept. 1915, British printers and publishers, then still reeling from the suppression of Lawrence's THE RAINBOW, were unreceptive in their responses to Joyce's efforts toward publication in book form. Based in part on Harriet Weaver's guarantee of 750 sets of sheets for the slightly later Egoist Press issue, Huebsch took on the novel for December publication. The size of the first printing may have been reasonably conservative, and a second printing was called for in April 1917. The printed dust jacket for this book is rather scarce; the present fragment consists of the rear flap (blank), the rear panel (an advert for the Huebsch edition of THE PRUSSIAN OFFICER - wanting two significant chips in the blank area), and a portion of the spine (with "AR / AS / YOUNG MAN / JOYCE / $1.50 net" intact). " ... the Portrait can be read as either an autobiography or a novel. A landmark in sensibility, the prose moves forward in complexity from the child's sensations at the beginning to the adolescent subtleties at the end" - Connolly. SLOCUM & CAHOON A11. CONNOLLY MODERN MOVEMENT 26.

JOYCE, James.

New York: B. W. Huebsch,, 1916. Octavo. Original blue cloth, gilt lettered spine, blind lettered front cover. Housed in a blue morocco backed slipcase and chemise. Very slight rubbing to ends and corners, two very minor white marks to front board, otherwise all sound and bright and generally in excellent condition. First edition, first printing, a lovely copy from the library of Alfred A. Knopf (1892-1984), a titan of American publishing, with his bookplate to the front pastedown, and the later bookplate of collector John Stuart Groves. Due at least in part to the hostile reaction to its serialization in The Egoist, no English printer would print the book for fear of prosecution under the obscenity laws. It was Huebsch who undertook the true first publication in book form, on 29 December 1916. He reserved from his print run about 750 sets of sheets for issue in the UK the following February. Although the number of copies originally issued in America is unknown, it is unlikely to have been large since Huebsch had sold out by March 1917 and called for a second printing by April.

JOYCE, James.

New York: B. W. Huebsch,, 1916. Octavo. Original blue cloth, gilt lettered spine, blind lettered front cover. Housed in a burgundy quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery. Neat book label of "Alice B. Egan, Medford, Oregon". Spine slightly rolled, a couple of small pale marks on front cover, a few leaves very slightly creased at head. Still a fine bright copy. First edition, first printing. Due at least in part to the hostile reaction to its serialization in The Egoist, no English printer would print the book for fear of prosecution under the obscenity laws. It was Huebsch who undertook the true first publication in book form, on 29 December 1916. He reserved from his print run about 750 sets of sheets for issue in the UK the following February. Although the number of copies originally issued in America is unknown, it is unlikely to have been large since Huebsch had sold out by March 1917 and called for a second printing by April.

JOYCE, James.

New York: B. W. Huebsch,, 1916. Octavo. Original blue cloth, titles to spine gilt and to upper board in blind. Housed in a dark blue flat-back cloth box by the Chelsea Bindery. Cloth lightly rubbed at extremities with a few tiny marks. An excellent copy. First edition, first printing, and a very attractive copy of Joyce's first novel. Due at least in part to the adverse reception of the Egoist serialisation of A Portrait, no English printer would print the book for fear of prosecution under the obscenity laws. It was Huebsch who undertook the true first publication in book form, first published on 29 December 1916. He sent from this print run about 750 sets of sheets for issue in the UK the following February. Although the number of copies issued in America is unknown, it is unlikely to have been large since Huebsch had sold out by March and called for a second printing by April.

Joyce, James

New York: Huebsch, 1916 First edition, first printing. Original publisher's blue cloth, blind-stamped front cover and gilt spine. A tight and clean copy with some rubbing to edges and spine ends, and some toning to spine. Internally fine and free of any marks, writing or bookplates. A very good copy of the author's first novel. Housed in a custom folding case. Slocum & Cahoon A11. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is Joyce's first novel and is virtually a complete rewrite of his abandoned novel, Stephen Hero. The semi-autobiographical text was first published serially in twenty-one monthly installments in the British literary magazine The Egoist from February 1914-September 1915. It was first published in book form in 1916; this copy precedes the first English edition by two months. Partially due to readers' critical reactions, many British publishers initially rejected Portrait, so it was first published in the United States. The plot tells of Stephen Daedalus, whose name alludes to both the Christian martyr Saint Stephen and the Greek mythological inventor Daedalus. It is a Künstlerroman, a subset of the bildungsroman genre, specific to the development of young artists. The novel is written in third-person with the spirit of first-person in Joyce's characteristic style of free indirect speech; Joyce's writing style matures along with Daedalus' own consciousness so that the sophistication of the narrator's voice mirrors the protagonist's level of awareness.. First Edition.. Hardcover. Very Good.

Joyce, James

New York: B. W. Huebsch, 1916. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 12mo - over 6¾ - 7¾" tall. VG+ handsome copy and true first edition/first printing. Original blue cloth w blind stamped title/author on cover and gilt font on spine.299 pps. Spine is slightly rolled, cloth rubbed at extremities. Cover corners very lightly bumped. Front and back hinge partial and light crack, 1/4" ripple of cloth on back cover. No markings, paste downs, stamps, nor writing/markings of any sort within interior pages which are completely clean, tight and bright. albeit lightly age toned."Huebsch undertook the true first publication. He would send from this print run about 750 sets of sheets for issue in the UK in February 1917. Whilst the number of copies issued in America is undetermined the number could not have been large." "Stephen Dedalus describes his spiritual journey through his Jesuit education and petty bourgeois Dublin to forge through 'silence, exile and cunning' the 'uncreated conscience of his race.' Following close on 'Dubliner's' (for it appeared through 1915 as a serial in 'The Egoist') The Portrait can be read either as an autobiography or a novel. A landmark in sensibility, the prose moves forward in complexity from the child's sensations at the beginning to the adolescent subtleties at the end" (Connolly). This is the first edition of the book published in New York in 1916. Included is facsimile of TLS review of 1 March 1917 by Arthur Clutton-Brock with photo of Joyce in 1918..

Joyce, James

New York: B.W. Huebsch, 1916. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. First edition, first printing. 299 pp. Original blue cloth with gilt spine lettering, blind stamped front board. A Near Fine copy with an owner inscription on top of first page, dated 1917; small faint stains to front board and top edge, little bit of rubbing to head and foot. No jacket. A very nice copy of the first novel by the innovative Irish writer, printed in the US before its British issue.

Joyce, James

New York: Huebsch, 1916. First edition of Joyce's classic stream-of-consciousness work, his first novel. Octavo, original blue cloth with titles to the spine in gilt. In excellent condition without the usual fade to the spine with some rubbing to the extremities. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical novel by James Joyce, which describes the formative years of the life of Stephen Dedalus. It was published first in book format in 1916 by B. W. Huebsch, New York. The first British edition was published by the Egoist Press in February 1917. Chosen by Modern Library as one of 100 greatest novels of the twentieth century.

JOYCE, James.

New York: B. W. Huebsch,, 1916. Octavo. Finely bound by the Chelsea Bindery in dark blue morocco, titles and decoration to spine gilt, raised bands, single rule to boards gilt, twin rule to turn-ins gilt, burgundy endpapers, gilt edges. Couple of spots to prelims, an excellent copy in a fine binding. First edition, first printing. Due at least in part to the adverse reception of the Egoist serialisation of A Portrait, no English printer would print the book for fear of prosecution under the obscenity laws. So it was Huebsch that undertook the true first publication. He would send from this print run about 750 sets of sheets for issue in the UK in February 1917. Whilst the number of copies issued in America is undetermined the number could not have been large since he had sold out by March and called for a second printing by April.

Joyce, James

New York: B. W. Huebsch, 1916. First Edition, First Printing 1st Printing. Blue Cloth. Near Fine. 7 5/8" Tall. 299 Pp. Blue Cloth, Spine Gilt, Front Cover Blind Stamped. First Printing (No Additional Printing Noted). This American Edition Precedes All Other Published Editions. Condition Is Exceptionally Attractive. Contents Evenly Aged, Otherwise Unmarked And Unstained, With A Few Tiny Foxing Spots In The Book. Spine Lightly Rubbed Along Very Top And Bottom Edges Only, With Pinpoint Rubs At Tips, No Fraying Or Damage And Almost No Loss Of Color, Boards Otherwise With Original Bright, Even Color. Spine Gilt Quite Bright Although Not Brilliant. Top Edge Of Page Block Is Very Dusty. Original Cloth And Endpapers, Re-Cased [Re-Glued And Tightened]; Not Ex-Library, No Previous Owners' Marks.

Joyce, James

New York: B. W. Huebsch, 1916. First edition. Very Good. A Very Good copy with bright gilt on the spine. Shelfwear to extremities. Front inner hinge tender, but holding. Some offsetting to front endpaper and early ownership signature to front pastedown. Page 16 with slight skinning affecting several lines of text. The author's first novel, a semi-autobiographical work, that laid the groundwork for his masterpiece, "Ulysses." This novel is more accessible than some of his later work. It tracks the physical, emotional and psychological growth of a young Joyce as he searches for his voice and his path in life, culminating with the decision to pursue his art abroad: "I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race." "It is a mosaic of jagged fragments that does altogether render with extreme completeness the growth of a rather secretive, imaginative boy in Dublin. The technique is startling, but on the whole it succeeds." -- H. G. Wells. Very Good.

James Joyce

North Books, 1998. Hardcover. Very Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in excellent condition. Pages are intact and are not marred by notes or highlighting, but may contain a neat previous owner name. The spine remains undamaged. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.

JOYCE, JAMES

London: The Egoist Ltd., 1917. First English Edition, English sheets, preceded by an edition using the American (Huebsch) sheets, as English printers had refused to print it. About 1000 copies were printed. A very good copy.

JOYCE, James.

London: Egoist Press,, 1917. Octavo (180 x 123 mm). Contemporary green quarter calf, titles to spine in gilt, raised bands to spine, green and gilt marbled paper sides, top edge gilt, others untrimmed, pale green book marker, marbled endpapers. Spine faded, slight rubbing to extremities, faint toning to margins, short closed tear to fore edge of first blank; a very good copy indeed. First edition to be printed in the UK, the so-called second edition, preceded by the English issue of the US edition. Joyce's first novel was originally published in book form by Huebsch in New York in 1916. Due at least in part to the hostile reaction to its original serialization in The Egoist (from February 1914 to September 1915) no English printer would print the book for fear of prosecution under the obscenity laws. Harriet Shaw Weaver, the proprietor of the Egoist Press, therefore purchased and bound "not more than 750" sets of the US sheets, and issued them under the Egoist imprint. She then issued the present edition using sheets printed in the UK.

Joyce, James

Jonathan Cape, 1928 The 6th impression, 1928, in the very rare original dust jacket. Very good in a very good dust jacket. Three quarter inch closed tear at top front of jacket. Comes in a custom-made collector's slipcase.. 5th or later Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good.

Joyce, James

London: The Egoist. Fair with no dust jacket. (1917). Hardcover. The first English edition from sheets printed in England. This edition was preceded by an earlier English edition from American sheets [Reference: Slocum and Cahoon 13]. Copyright page has: "Copyright, 1916, By B. W. Huebsch, New York. First edition printed in the United States of America, 1916. Second Edition, 1917. Visiter Printing Works, Southport." Title page imprint: "The Egoist Ltd. 23 Adelphi Terrace House W. C. London". Original green cloth boards with gilt title on spine and blind-stamped title on front board. [vi], 299 pages. Page dimensions: 182 x 119mm. A 3 1/2" tear to cloth along lower part of front joint. Cloth frayed and torn along both ends of spine. A couple of <1/2" vertical tears to cloth at head of spine, with slight loss of cloth. A few marks to cloth. Corners bruised. No loss of cloth at corners of boards. Internally good. No signatures. Narrow split to gutter between the half-title and the title pages. No splitting to gutters at endpapers. ; 12mo 7" - 7½" tall .

JOYCE, James. [MURPHY, Gerald]

New York:: B. W. Huebsch,, 1917.. Third printing, January, 1918.. publisher's blue cloth (lacking dust jacket).. A very good copy with some wear to the extremities of the spine, which is a little sunned.. 8vo,. Gerald Murphy's copy, with his pencilled signature at the head of the title page.

Joyce, James

NY: Huebsch, 1917. Stated 2nd printing, good plus, no dj. Spine ends rubbed and faded; spine a little darkened. Small armorial bookplate on front pastedown; blind-stamped owner's name (in Gothic script) on ffep; odd spot that looks like foxing on the half-title, though there is no other foxing. Occasional margin notes in pencil; also the rear endpapers are filled with notes. On the rear pastedown the owner claims to have met Joyce in Paris in 1929, introduced by agent Madeleine Boyd (the discoverer of Thomas Wolfe). "He was almost blind, talked to his daughter in Italian, recited some of the "Work In Progress" later called Finnegan's Wake + then had records of it played while he dozed off to sleep." 299 pp.. Hard Cover.

Joyce, James

Viking Press, 1974. Paperback. Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include previous owner inscriptions. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.